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Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Sparx Systems Enterprise Ar...
Ranking in Business Process Design
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (2nd)
Visio
Ranking in Business Process Design
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Mind Mapping Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is 10.6%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visio is 12.6%, down from 13.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Milan Sterba - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient documentation generation through organized model structure with a good price-performance ratio
Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not easy for even experienced users to find their way without guidance. This is not the most user-friendly solution.
Tugrul TASCI - PeerSpot reviewer
We have seen return on investment in the form of time savings but should have more design tools
I am generally using Visio to create some diagrams Visio should implement more complex tools or graphics to facilitate processing and use flexible templates. It should allow users to easily drag and drop some previously created diagrams. The tools supplied or provided are very basic, and there…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Large variety of profiles and frameworks available out-of-the-box without the need for customization."
"Ability to keep inventory of reusable blocks, and use in different diagrams with views of various templates."
"Features good reporting facilities coupled with a concrete database."
"We have found the stability to be very reliable."
"It is a useful tool for modeling and testing automated processes."
"It has led some teams to do better code reviews - to be less focussed on coding conventions (syntax) and more focussed on the semantics because of the abstraction level clear design affords."
"Scalable solution for modeling, project sharing, and collaboration. Support for it is good."
"The stability has been good and satisfactory. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"The fact that it's on-premises allows you to get fantastic speed. It's got a faster response rate, it doesn't lag, and it doesn't have any latency when you're working on it."
"On the scalability front, the aspect of increasing the number of endpoints is relatively easy to handle."
"It is a standard and easy-to-use solution from Microsoft, and you benefit from the general functions of Microsoft solutions. It integrates easily with SharePoint, which is a useful tool from Microsoft."
"I could jump into it and learn the basics pretty quickly."
"I haven't needed to reach out to technical support the entire time I've used the product. It's very basic and very simple, and therefore I've never run into any issues I haven't been able to deal with personally."
"The most valuable features are that the user experience is simple, and it's customizable."
"I like that once you create what you need, you can group that, at least within that drawing, and you have access to that new stencil object or that custom object throughout that drawing."
 

Cons

"The stability and performance of Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect could still be improved. Setup for it is also slightly complicated and could be improved."
"Greater OMG UML and XMI compliance"
"Insufficient control of metadata and standards."
"Inconsistent UI elements must be tidied up with the toolbox gaps removed."
"It took me a while to figure out how to use the report generation features effectively. So, it would be really nice if they had a way to make that a little bit more interactive and a little bit more straightforward."
"Not visually appealing."
"The database management area was not usable."
"I would like to see integration with Confluence or any other TRM, and the capability to integrate with the data storage, such as a repository similar to GitHub."
"There is a limitation in Visio."
"Something that needs to improve, is the interface interaction with other tools."
"The one particular thing which I would like to see improved is in comparison to other products in the market, and is still lacking in Visio, is publishing on a web application. For example, there is a freeware application business process modeling tool, Bizagi."
"I would like to see traceability. It doesn't have it. You cannot find one object amongst several sheets of Visio diagrams."
"The behavior of the interface can sometimes be unpredictable."
"They could improve the drawing function, other solutions provide easier drawing capabilities."
"Transferring data was one of the issues that I expected Visio to have resolved. I use the older version."
"The solution could improve by having more integration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is not as expensive as some of the other data modeling tools such as Erwin."
"The Corporate Edition, or one of the bundles, is the way to go."
"The license for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is paid yearly, but I don't handle that area. It's good for its price, so I'm rating it a five out of five, but I'm not using it much. I also don't have information regarding additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees."
"We have an annual license, and it's very affordable."
"It is very economical and low cost. You have to pay for a one-time license, and it is active forever."
"Pricing and licensing are suitable even for small companies."
"We paid 1200 euros as a once-off cost. All add ons and integrations come at an additional cost."
"The licence has a costly upfront fee which gets you access. You have to pay an annual maintenance fee, which is less."
"The price could be more flexible for infrequent users. If it's your main utility that you use daily, then it's a good price."
"It's cheaper than other solutions."
"If I want to buy Visio for myself, I think it will be around 80 to 120 USD, though it is important to consider that I am unsure of its actual costs."
"The cost of the software is reasonably priced."
"The licensing process is actually a breeze. Simply buy the license and download it from Microsoft, enter the license key in Visio to activate the software, and you're done."
"The product is inexpensive if you already have Microsoft products in your environment. The license encompasses all the required services."
"The price is reasonable for individual use but for an organization, the costs is high."
"I know you can pick it up in retail for under a thousand per person. You can also pick it up for cheaper than that. Microsoft has about 7,000 licensing models, and you get certain percentages off specific licensing. If you're a partner, you get specific numbers of licenses with the partnership price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
The stability has been good and satisfactory. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
One of the reasons many public sector institutions in the Czech Republic use it is that it provides a very good price-performance ratio. While it might be cumbersome to learn, it still delivers exc...
What needs improvement with Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect?
Whenever I begin a new project with Sparx, I have to spend time training people on how to use it since it is not straightforward. Although it's a powerful product with plenty of features, it's not ...
How easy is it to migrate process flow charts (modeled using tools like Visio) into Bizagi?
I have been using Bizagi with a major project for a state government agency for about four years now. It is pretty straightforward to load in files that are BPMN 2.0 compliant. The option to load V...
What do you like most about Visio?
The diagrams Visio creates are quite impressive in the sense that we can cooperate with more colleagues in one task and see the flow of the process.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visio?
One of the main problems with Visio is its licensing options and associated issues, which lead to discussions about the price with a Microsoft representative. If asked to rate the price, I would gi...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Visio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

OmniLink
Thomas College, Hamburg Port Authority, Portigon AG, Conseil G_n_ral du d_partement des Hautes-Alpes, AAA Auto a. s., Commonwealth Financial Network, ICA, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
Find out what your peers are saying about Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs. Visio and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.